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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 






OF THE 



REV. THOMAS DAVIES, A. M. 






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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF THE 



REV. THOMAS DAVIES, A. M., 



MISSIONARY OF THE SOCIETY FOR 



PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL IN FOREIGN PARTS, 



IN SEVERAL OP THE 



TOWNS OF LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONN., 



FROM THE YEAR 1761 TO THE YEAR 1766. 



BY A MINISTER OE THE COUNTY. 









NEW HAVEN : 

PRINTED BY STANLEY &, CHAPL*, 
1843. 



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-w^r-a 



/./ 






TO HIS 

SURVIVING SON, 

ins 

NUMEROUS FAMILY CONNECTIONS, 

AND THE 

PARISHES INCLUDED \U THE LIMITS OF HIS MINISTERIAL CHARGE, 

IN LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONN. 

TOGETHER WITH THE PARISH OF 

GREAT BARRINGTON, BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MASS. 

THIS HUMBLE EFFORT TO RESCUE FROM 03LIVI0N THE SERYICE3 

OF A DISTINGUISHED MINISTER AND MISSIONARY 

OF THE CHURCH OP ENGLAND, 

IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 

BY TE3 AUTHCH. , 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, &. 



" The good Shepherd giyeth his life for the Sheep." — John x. 11. 

The ministerial office is frequently compared in 
Scripture to the occupation of a Shepherd. It is 
probably owing to the aclaptedness of this familiar 
object of comparison for illustrating the nature and 
duties of an office to which it bears in its main fea- 
tures a most striking analogy — that it is made use of 
to represent the relation in w r hich our Saviour stood 
to those who were favored with the benefits of his 
personal ministry when he was upon the earth. He 
is called in the passage of Scripture above quoted, 
"the good Shepherd ; 55 and he is elsewhere styled 
u the great Shepherd, 55 and " the chief Shepherd. 55 
Supreme in power and dignity, and holding the pre- 
eminence above all other Shepherds, who are en- 
trusted with the management and care of his flock 
upon the earth, and w T ho hold their office by virtue of 
an authority which they derive from him. It is said 
that when he " ascended up on high 55 and " gave 
gifts unto men, 55 he made "some pastors." And 
upon those who were permitted to assume the respon- 
sibilities of acting in that high capacity, it is enjoin- 
ed as an imperative duty, that they should " feed 55 his 
" sheep and lambs 55 — (John xxi. 15, 16.) — u feed the 
Church of God 55 — (Acts xx. 28,)—" feed the flock 
of God which is among them, taking the oversight 
thereof, not by constraint but willingly, not for filthy 
lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords 

1* 



over God's heritage, but as being ensamples to the 
flock, and when the chief Shepherd shall appear,, 
they shall receive a crown of glory which fadeth not 
away." 

It is to one whose zealous labors in promoting the 
spiritual benefit of that part of the flock of Christ, 
in relation to whom he was appointed to exercise a 
Shepherd's care were such as to justify the applica- 
tion to him of the Shepherd's title, that the senti- 
ment predicated in the above passage will in its ac- 
commodative sense be applied. And in endeavoring 
to show from the faithfulness and self-sacrificing 
spirit with which he devoted himself to the discharge 
of his duties, the extent to which he exhibited in his 
own life and ministry the qualities- of a " good Shep- 
herd^ we shall consider — 

I. His early life, or the period which elapsed pre- 
viously to the time of his entrance upon the Shep- 
herd's office. 

II. The respective flocks over which he exercised 
the pastoral care, and 

III. The manner in which he exemplified the 
characteristic of u the good Shepherd, giving his life 
for the sheep ." 

I. We are to consider his early life, or the pe- 
riod which elapsed previously to the time of his en- 
trance upon the Shepherd's office. This portion of 
his history as it was doubtless spent in a manner 
preparatory for his future course of usefulness, is 
marked by no very extraordinary events or incidents, 
which have as yet been brought to our knowledge. 
He was born in Herefordshire, England, on the 21st 
of December, 1736, 0. S. ; # and removed to this 
country with his father in the year 1745. Yvlien first 



* The discrepencv between this and the date of Mr. Davies' birth as 
given in another part of this history, (see page 9,) is to be accounted for 
by a change from Old to New Style. 



stepping his feet upon our trans-atlantic shores, it is 
probable that he could then have entertained but little 
expectation of his being called in the subsequent lead- 
ings of Providence, to become the Shepherd over 
those scattered sheep who had been then, and were 
afterwards constantly emigrating to these colonies 
from the mother country, as he had then arrived only 
at the age of nine years. His period of life pre- 
viously to his entrance upon the course of study 
which was to prepare him for his admission to col- 
lege, was doubtless spent with his father, in such oc- 
cupations as a rural and retired situation demanded, 
and devoted chiefly to agricultural pursuits. As 
academies and schools of a higher order were not at 
that time existing in many of our country towns, it is 
probable that his early opportunities for education 
were no better than those which are usually enjoyed 
by farmer's sons, who, if they feel disposed to im- 
prove them, have their winter evenings, and their in- 
tervals of leisure to devote to reading and to intel- 
lectual improvement, instead of wasting them as is 
too often done, in idleness or frivolous amusement. 
Having passed the usual term of study in Yale Col- 
lege, he became a graduate of that institution while 
under the administration of President Clapp, whocon- 
ferred upon him his bachelor's degree in September, 
1758. From this time he commenced his course of 
study as a candidate for Holy Orders, to which he was 
admitted in England, after a period of three years 
from the time of his college graduation. He was or- 
dained Deacon by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. 
Thomas Seeker, in his Episcopal Chapel at Lambeth, 
on Sunday the 23d of August, 1761, and by the same 
Rt. Rev. Prelate, was ordained priest on the follow- 
ing day. Soon after which he returned to America, 
and entered upon his duties as a missionary of the 



8 

Society for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts.* 
He had now arrived at the age of 25 years, and had, 
as we have seen above, fully exemplified in his pre- 
vious course of life the description which is given of 
the illustrious type of the " good Shepherd" in the 
78th Psalm and 70th verse, in his being taken " from 
the sheep fold, and from following the sheep that he 
might feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inherit- 
ance. " And if by the occupation to which he de- 
voted himself previously to his entrance upon the 
sacred office, he may be said to have manifested a re- 
semblance to the person by whom our Saviour, in 
his pastoral character had been typified, so in the 
manner in which he discharged the duties of a Shep- 
herd, it may be shown that he preserved also the 
same close conformity to him. If like him he were 
taken u from the sheep-fold, that he might feed Ja- 
cob his people and Israel his inheritance," so like 
him he may be said to have u fed them with a faith- 
ful and true heart," and to have u ruled them pru- 
dently with all his power." This, however, will ap- 
pear from the statement which will be continued in 
the second part of our narrative, where in accord- 
ance with our design we purposed to give — 

II. Some account of the respective flocks over 
which he exercised the pastoral care. 

At the time of Mr. Davies' entrance upon the du- 
ties of his mission in Litchfield County, the condi- 
tion of the members of the Church of England may 
be said to have been literally that of a sheep without 
a Shepherd." Made up as the population of most 
of its towns was, of emigrants from the mother 
country, many of whom had brought with them a 

*In the abstract of the Society's proceedings for the year 1761, we 
find mention made of " Rev. Mr. Davies, itinerant missionary, in Litch- 
field County, and parts adjacent," and speaking of him as " a hopeful 
young man, strongly recommended by Dr. Johnson, Mr. Palmer, and 
others, as truly worthy of the Society's notice and encouragement." 



preference for the Church in which they had been 
educated, and to which they were strongly attached, 
without any resident Bishop on this side of the wa- 
ters* to administer the rite of confirmation, to con- 
secrate their Churches, or ordain candidates for Holy 
Orders, and with very infrequent and rare opportuni- 
ties for obtaining the services even of the inferior 
orders of the ministry, to administer the sacraments 
of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and to lead in 
the celebration of divine worship according to our 
peculiar forms, their situation was one in which they 
might not only be said to have been destitute of 
Episcopal supervision, but nearly as much so of pas- 
toral care. There was, perhaps, scarcely a town in 
w T hich did not reside some more or less of the mem- 
bers of the Church of England, who had emigrated 
to these^colonies from the mother country,! and for 



* The Churches of the American Colonies were under the Episcopal 
jurisdiction of the Bishop of London. 

t The Davies family, or the father and grandfather of the Rev. Mr. Da- 
vies, was among the noble band of pioneers who were made instrumental 
in affecting the early introduction of the Episcopal Church into several 
of the towns of Litchfield County, particularly the towns of Litchfield 
and Washington. The grandfather of the Rev. Mr. D, was John Da- 
vies, who came to this country from the Parish of Kinton, in Hereford- 
shire, England, and purchased in the year 1735, a tract of land then 
known by the name of Birch Plain, and included within the limits of 
the town of Litchfield, but by subsequent changes in the geographical 
boundaries of that town for the formation of the new township of Wash- 
ington, now set off to the latter, and known by the name of Davies 
Hollow. The father of the Rev. Mr. Davies, John Davies, Jun., was 
an only child. His mother's name was Catharine Spencer. He was 
born in Hereford, England, in the year 1711, and became the head of a 
family previously to his removal to this country. His first wife was 
Elizabeth Brown, who died in England, leaving three children, whose 
names, births, and times of their death, were as follows : 

John, born in Hereford, England, June 1735, died in Washington, 
April 18, 1799. 

Thomas, born in Hereford, England, January 2, 1737, died in New 
Milford, May 12,1766. 

William, born in Hereford, England, 1739, died young. 

After the decease of his first wife, the father of the Rev. Mr. Davies 
was again married to Mary Powell, who became the mother of twelve 



10 

supplying them with the religious services to which 
they had been accustomed in their own country; 
there was during almost the whole of Mr. Davies' 
ministry but one resident clergyman upon whose pas- 
toral labors they were entirely dependent. Under 
such circumstances, as might naturally be expected, 
many would feel themselves necessitated to repair to 
those places of worship on the Sunday, where they 
could avail themselves of the benefit of having the 
gospel preached by dissenting ministers; while oth- 
ers would prefer to stay at home and read the servi- 
ces oi the Church and a sermon in their own house, 
availing themselves only of those occasional opportu- 
nities which they might have of sitting under the 
preaching of a clergyman of their own denomination. 
Hence we may form some idea of the arduousness 
and extent of the field of labor upon which Mr. 
Davies was about to enter. 

The appointment which he received from the So- 

children. The number born in England will show the time of her re- 
moval to this country, which, though her husband had been several times 
across the Atlantic, and made several passages to and from America, 
does not seem to have taken place until the year 1749, It was with the 
greatest reluctance that she was prevailed upon to leave her native coun- 
try, and she has been heard to say that if it had not been for the circum- 
stance of her husband coming over first and bringing with him one or 
more of her children, she should probably never have been induced to 
emigrate. After her arrival to this country she seems still to have cher- 
ished a fondness for England, and to have regretted the loss of many re- 
ligious advantages which she there enjoyed. In writing back to her 
friends to inform them respecting her new residence, she is said to have 
told them that she found herself in a place where she was entirely alone, 
having no society, and nothing to associate with but Presbyterians and 
wolves. The names of her children were as mentioned below. 

William, born in Hereford, England, January 29, 1744, died in Can- 
ada, in 1815. 

Mary, born in Hereford, March 17, 1745, died in Washington, aged 
about 20. 

Walter, born in Hereford, November 15, 1747, died in Canada, about 
1813. 

James, born in Hereford, June 22, 1749, died young. 

Catharine born in Washington, (then Litchfield,) July 23, 1751, mar- 
ried a Mr. Bosworth, and died in the state of New York. 



11 

ciety for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts, as 
communicated to him by the Secretary, Dr. Daniel 
Burton, reads thus : a Agreed the 18th of September, 
1761, that Mr. Davies be appointed missionary to the 
Churches of New Milford, Roxbury, Sharon, New 
Preston, and New Fairfield, in Litchfield County, 
Connecticut. ;; From this it would seem that the 
parish of Litchfield was not included in his original 
appointment as a part of his mission, but that it after- 
wards became so, would appear evident from corres- 
pondence which passed between him and the Secre- 
tary of the Society. In one of these letters the Sec- 
retary informs him that he had sent two quarto Bi- 
bles, and two folio Common Prayer Books, to his 
care, the one of which was designed for the Church 
in Sharon, and the other for the Church in Litchfield, 

Elizabeth, born in Washing-ton, July 3, 1753, married a Mr. Howard, 
and died in 1831; in the state of New York. 

Ann, bom in Washington. November 18, 1755, married a Mr. Sperry, 
and died at Camden, in the state of New York. 

James John, bom in Washington, December 31, 1757, died in Wash- 
ington, December 25, 1831. 

David, born in Washington, March 4, 1759, died in Washington. Jan- 
uary m, 1834. 

Rachel, born in Washington, August 20, 1761, married McDonald, 
and is now living in Lyons, New York. 

George, bom in Washington, February 12, 1764, died in Oswegotchie, 
New York, August 17, IS 1 5. 

Thomas, bom in Washington, May 31, 1766, died in Reading, Con- 
necticut, July 11, 1831. 

The Rev. Thomas Davies having died on the 12th day of the same 
month as that in which the youngest member of this family was born, 
accounts for the fact as will be seen of there hawing been two sons of the 
same name. This younger Thomas became a practicing physician in 
the* town of Reading, where he died in communion of the Episcopal 
Church. [Acknowledgements are due to his son the Rev. Thomas F. 
Davies, of Xew Haven, a nephew of the subject of this memoir, for the 
communication of many interesting facts which have been inserted.] 
"W alter, whose name is mentioned above, was left in England at the 
time of his parents removal to this country, and was not brought 
over until the return of his brother Thomas upon occasion of his g 
there for Orders in 1761. Two of this family, Walter and William," were 
bom in England, and buried in the British possession in North Amer- 
ica. 



12 

and in the answer which was made to this letter by 
Mr. Davies, on the 28th of December, 1763, ac- 
knowledging the receipt of the same, " which," he 
says, " came safe to hand in September last," he 
gives a particular report of the parish of Litchfield, 
stating its number of families, communicants, &c. 
He also maintains in the same letter for the informa- 
tion of the society, that a the uneasiness at Litch- 
field on account of Mr. Palmer's removal subsides 
by degrees, and they say now they would be as sat- 
isfied as ever if I would but officiate there the oft- 
ener." And in the same letter he speaks again of 
his own duties as being made " nearly double since 
the last winter, to what those of Mr. Palmer were 
when he was in the mission." From all which it 
would seem, that the parish of Litchfield came under 
his charge owing to the previous resignation and re- 
moval of the Rev. Mr. Palmer, to w T hom he became 
a successor, and that his own sphere of labour had 
thereby been very materially enlarged. His mission, 
therefore, at the date of this letter, December 28, 
1753, must have included the parishes of Litchfield, 
New Preston, New Milford, Roxbury, New Fairfield, 
and Sharon, together wtth occasional services in 
Washington, Kent, Woodbury, Cornwall, Salisbury, 
and Great Barrington, u which," says he, u I must 
perform, if I would preserve and second the growth 
of the religion and worship of the Church of Eng- 
land, which I hope to see flourish even in the wilds 
of America." 

In presenting to the view of my readers some brief 
notice of each of the above mentioned Churches and 
places where Mr. Davies officiated, for the purpose 
of enabling them to judge respecting the results of 
his ministry there, it may be proper to commence 
with the parish of 



13 



LITCHFIELD. 



This as we have said , was not included in the original 
appointment of Mr. Davies as a part of his mission, 
but was placed under his pastoral care as early as the 
spring of 1763, if not some time in the year 1762, 
immediately after the resignation and removal of the 
Rev. Mr. Palmer, who retired from the parish for a 
time, and afterwards returned to it, subsequently to 
the death of Mr. Davies. By having Litchfield an- 
nexed to his parochial cure, he was frequently called 
upon to discharge ministerial duties among his own 
family connections, as it was with that parish that 
his father and grandfather were at that time con- 
nected, and upon them it was to a considerable 
degree dependent, for its pecuniary support. # The 
parish during the continuance of Mr. Davies' min- 
istry seems to have been prosperous. Its number 

* The grandfather of the Rev. Mr. Davies, for some time the first and 
only Episcopalian in the town of Litchfield, being an extensive land- 
holder, and devotedly attached to the Church of England, gave a tract 
of fifty-two acres to the Episcopal Church, and conveyed it by a deed t 
which bears date, April 4, 1747. It was upon this ground that the first 
Episcopal house of worship in the town of Litchfield, was built, and 
was situated about one mile west of where St. Michael's Church now 
stands. This land was afterwards sold, and the money which was ob- 
tained by the sale of it, together with the amount realized by the dispo- 
sal of another piece of ground lying near it, and given to the Church by 
another member of the parish, Daniel Landon, was vested in a perma- 
nent fund, the interest of which is now annually applied to the support 
of preaching in the parishes of Litchfield, Bradleyville, and Milton, all 
of' which were then included within the limits of the original parish of 
Litchfield. After tfce bestowment of land, "Mr. Davies also contributed 
very largely towards the erection of the first Church, and gave it the 
name of St. Michael's Church. He lived to a good old age, and died, 
November 22, 1758, and was brought for interment seven miles from his 
place of residence, to the burying ground contiguous to the spot where 
the Church then stood which he had founded and fostered by his mu- 
nificence. He ordered gifts of mourning apparel to be made to his 
friends who had been his cotemporaries and colleagues in the buildinnr of 
St. Michael's Church. There is no monument now standing to record 
his age, or time of death. But the Episcopalians of Litchfield will hare 
reason to revere his memory as identified with the origin and best tem- 

2 



14 

of families as reported by him in 1763,was sixty- 
one — communicants, fifty-seven. A large number 
of baptisms is also reported as having been per- 
formed by him there, in the course of his ministry, 
" The people of Litchfield," says he, " are anxious- 
ly engaged for the Church, yet can obtain the duties 
of a minister there but seldom." Connected with 
the parish of Litchfield, or rather growing out of the 
same, might be mentioned the parish of 

WASHINGTON. 

Occasional services were performed by Mr. Davies 
in what was then called Judeah, now Washington, 
where a few Episcopal families resided, though not 

poral interest of their parish, and to cherish the remembrance of his lib- 
ers lity with gratitude. 

The following is a copy of the deed given by Mr. Davies to the Church 
in Litchfield, as taken from the town records : 

" To all people to whom these presents shall come, Greeting. Know 
ye that I, John Davies of Litchfield, in the County of Hartford, in the 
Colony of Comiecticut, in New England, for and in consideration of the 
love and affection I have, and bear for, and towards the people of the 
Church of England, in the said town of Litchfield, and securing and 
settling the service and worship of God among us according to the usage 
of our most excellent Church, within said Litchfield, at all times forever 
hereafter : and also for the love and good will I have for Mr. Samuel 
Cole, of Litchfield, aforesaid, do therefore demise, lease, and to farm, let 
to the said Samuel Cole, (a) his heirs, and assigns, for and during the full 
term of nine hundred ninety and eight years, to the use of the Society 
or the Propagating of the Gospel, and their successors, for, and during 

(a) The above ^mentioned Samuel Cole, in whose favor the deed for 
the conveyance of this land to the parish of Litchfield, was drawn, is 
said to have been a lay reader in that Church, and probably officiated 
there in that capacity on Sundays, when there was no preaching. He is 
said to have had the generous offer of money from the Rev. Mr. Davies, 
to defray his expenses to England, in case he would allow himself to be 
sent there for the purpose of receiving ordination, But it is probable that 
this measure was never carried into effect, as we find him in the abstract 
of the proceed ngs of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts, for the year 1769 — 70, " appointed a schoolmaster for the people 
of Claremont, in the Province of New Hampshire, having been strongly 
recommended to that situation by the people themselves, and the clergy 
of Connecticut. 



15 

sufficiently numerous or wealthy, to organize a pa- 
rish, or to erect for themselves a house of worship. 
But after the separation of Davies Hollow from the 
town of Litchfield to which it had previously be- 
longed, the Davies family, owing probably to cir- 
cumstances of a local nature, withdrew from the 
Litchfield parish, and built a Church* of their own 

the full term aforesaid, (which Society were incorporate by letters patent 
under the great seal of England,) fifty acres of land, in said Litchfield. 

Also, about two acres of land adjoining to the said fifty acres, running 
from the said fifty acres west, oyer a run of water to a rock. 

To have, and to hold said demised and leased premises, with all the 
privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging, to him, the said Sam- 
uel Cole, his heirs and assigns, for, and during the full term aforesaid, for 
the use, benefit, and behalf of the said Society, for the Propagation of 
the Gospel, and their successors, to be by the said Society applied and 
appropriated for the benefit of the Episcopal minister for the time being 
of the Episcopal Church, in Birch Plain, in said Litchfield, and to his 
successors for and during the full term aforesaid, and to and for no other 
use, intent, or purpose whatsoever. And I, the said John Davies, for 
myself and heirs, executors, and administrators, do covenant and promise 
to and with the said Samuel Cole, his heirs and assigns, that the said 
Samuel Cole shall, and may, from time to time, and at all times for and 
during the full term aforesaid, for the use and benefit of the Society 
aforesaid, lawfully, peaceably, and quietly have, hold, use, improve, oc- 
cupy, possess, and enjoy, the premises : he, and his heirs, yielding and 
paying therefor one pepper corn annually, at or upon the feast of St. 
Michael, the Archangel, if lawfully demanded. In witness whereof, I 
have hereunto set my hand and seal this fourth day of April, in the 
twentieth year of his Majesty's reign, George the Second, of Great 
Britain, &c, King. Annoque Domini, 1747. 

* The following is a copy of a deed given by John Davies, Jan., the 
father of the Rev. Thomas Davies, to the Episcopalians in Washington, 
making to them a conveyance of the land upon which this house of 
worship was erected, which reads as follows : — " Know ve that /, John 
Davies, of that part of Washington formerly belonging to Litchfield, and 
known and called by the name of Birch Plain, in the County of Litch- 
field, for the consideration of an agreement and promise made with and 
to my honored father, John Davies, late of Birch Plain, in said Litch- 
field, deceased, and for the love and affection I have and bear towards the 
people of the Church of England, now in said town of Washington, and 
securing and settling the service and worship of God among us, according 
to the usage of our most excellent Episcopal Church, whenever there 
shall be one legally organized in said Washington, and all times forever 
hereafter, do therefore demise," &e. The measurement of the land as 



16 

in Davies Hollow, where with the assistance of some 
few families who resided near, they sustained reli- 
gious services, and kept up a distinct religious soci- 
ety for some considerable period. But by subsequent 
changes occasioned by the death and removal of the 
different members of the Davies family, their house 
of worship in a thinly populated part of the town, 
became at length almost entirely deserted. It was 
then taken by the Episcopalians who resided in the 
different parts of Washington, and removed into the 
centre of the place where it now stands. It is the 
only house of worship that has ever been erected in 
that parish, and with some repairs, might be made to 
answer the purpose for which it was built, for some 

described in the deed must have been equal to ninety-six square rods, 
and it was restricted to the being used for a public burying ground, and 
for the purpose of having a suitable house of worship erected upon it. 
It is also worthy of remark that the same condition is annexed to it as 
that winch was expressed in the deed given by Ins father to the Church 
in Litchfield, viz., the requirement of one peppercorn to be paid annually 
upon the feast of St. Michael, the Archangel, if demanded, The date 
of the above deed shows it to ha\e been given on the 22d of January, 
1794. Upon the ground thus given, an Episcopal Chinch, principally 
at his own expense, was subsequently erected. Aged and infirm and 
seated in an arm chair, in the door of his house, he witnessed the raising 
of the edifice with a feeling somewhat similar to that of Simeon, when 
he said, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." He lived 
to enter upon the 86th year of his age, and after his death which occur- 
red on the 19th of May, 1797, he was buried in the family grave yard, 
in Davies Hollow. His wife Mary, to whom a monument stands erected by 
the side of his own, appears to have outlived him but a period of between 
four and five years, and died on the loth December, 1801, in the 76th 
year of her age. Those of their children who died in Washington, are 
buried near them in the same family grave yard. The others, it will be 
seen, with the exception of one who is now living, died at the different 
places to which they had removed. 

Some time during the continuance of the French and Indian war t 
about the year 1758, the same Mr. Davies purchased a tract of land in 
the State of New York, lying in Saratoga County, or as some say, near 
Fort Edward. But being molested and driven off by the Indians, and 
having had the misfortune to lose the papers which secured to him the 
title to his lands, and thus being left with a defective claim to them, he 
returned to his former place of residence in Washington, in the year 
1762, and remained there until the time of Ins death in 1797. 



17 

several years to come. The number of families re- 
siding in Judeah, or what is now Washington, during 
the time of Mr. Davies' ministry was small. Occa- 
sional services and one or two baptisms are recorded 
as having been performed by him there. Included 
within the present limits of the town of Washington, 
is the parish of 

NEW PRESTON. 

This parish, or what is now called New Preston 
Society, belonged in the days of Mr. 0a vies, to the 
towns of New Milford and Kent. Previously to his 
entrance upon the duties of his mission, it would seem 
that there were a number of Episcopalians in this 
vicinity, who had organized themselves into a parish, 
that were destitute of a house of worship. This 
they soon began to feel the need of, and efforts were 
made for having one erected. In a letter written by 
Mr, Davies, June 25, 1764, he says, u In New Pres- 
ton, a parish in Kent, they have most of the mate- 
rials for building a Church, which they determine to 
erect and finish next summer, forty-five by thirty- 
five." And in another letter written in June 1765, 
he writes thus, " The Church I mentioned, which was 
intended to be erected this last Spring at New Pres- 
ton is postponed until the next, on account of the 
people's incapacity, not that they are distressingly 
poor, but because there is no money circulating.?' 
At what time the plan of building this contemplated 
Church was carried into effect is not known. It is 
probable that it was erected soon after the date of 
the above letter, and was placed in the village now 
called by the name of the upper city, being the clus- 
ter of buildings which stand at the foot of the hill 

between New Preston Centre and Washington. Du- 
• ... ^ 

ring Mr. Davies ministry several baptisms are re- 
ported by him, as having been performed in that par- 

2* 



18 

ish. His services there, were however, very infre- 
quent, consisting usually of single lectures, and 
those delivered mostly on week days. Adjoining the 
parish of New Preston on the west, is the parish of 

KENT. 

Here there is a tradition that Mr. Davies organ- 
ized an Episcopal Church, which however, must be 
understood with some explanation. There is no ev- 
idence to be obtained from Mr. Davies' records of 
his ever having preached in any part of the town of 
Kent nearer to the place where the Episcopal Church 
now stands than MerrialL Here he was in the habit 
of holding occasional services, and performed some 
baptisms. And it is probable that from the incipient 
efforts thus made, and the few scattered families thus 
collected together by him in a part of the town near 
to where he resided, the parish of Kent may at a 
subsequent period, and in an entirely different part of 
the town in point of location, have received its or- 
igin. Though it was not in reality organized until 
after the death of Mr. Davies, and some time during 
the ministry of his successor in the mission, the Rev. 
Richard Clark, when, owing to a valuable accession 
which was made to the Episcopal Church, by a num- 
ber of individuals residing upon Kent Plain who con- 
formed to it, and among others an influential member 
of society; Mr. Reuben Swift,* a parish was imme- 
diately formed, and a house of worship erected some 
time in the year 1772, or in the early part of 1773. 
This building is still standing, and is now occupied 
as a Town House. Bordering upon the parish of 
Kent on the south, lies the parish of 



* Mr. Swift was the ancestor from whom the various Episcopal fam- 
ilies of that name, some of whom are still residing in the parish, and 
others of whom have moved to the west, and to other parts of the- 
country, were descended. 



19 



NEW MILFORD 



Here was the missionary's place of residence; and 
probably the largest congregation that was connect- 
ed with his mission. A parish had been organized 
in this place, and a house of worship been built pre- 
viously to the commencement of Mr. Davies' ministry. 
But in his letter of the 25th June, 1764, he writes, 
" In New Milford, our old Church is too small, and 
we have gathered most of the materials for erecting 
a new one, which we shall begin to build early next 
spring." In June 1765, he writes, u The Church 
in New Milford was raised this spring, which, if we 
can possibly finish, will be a very commodious build- 
ing, having a steeple and a chancel. To put for- 
ward this Church I have taken unwearied pains, 
and expended all the money not only that I could 
spare, but all that I could get. And I am fearful, 
considering my farther incapacity to help, and the 
present distressing circumstances of our country — 
that after all, it will not be fit for service in some 
years." For a further account of this Church and 
other interesting information connected with the 
history of this parish, reference may be made to the 
Historical Sermon preached by its present minister, 
the Rev. Enoch Huntington, and delivered by him 
to his congregation upon the occasion of pulling 
down the old Church, built in the time of Mr. Davies, 
and the building of a new one, and published in the 
Chronicle of the Church, for October 13, 1837. 

On the 5th of November, 1764, Mr. Davies laid 
before the people of New Milford, a proposal which 
had been made to him from the parish of Hempstead, 
Long Island, urging him to accept a call to become 
their minister, but the proposition was unanimously 
opposed by his people, and in accordance with their 
wishes he declined the invitation. The account of 
this whole proceeding is given by himself, in his own 
language, of which the following is a copy : 



20 

" October 1764, Mr. Benjamin Hewlett of Hemp- 
stead, Long Island, by the desire and appointment 
of the Vestry of that Church, came to visit and so- 
licit me to remove and become their minister. Mr. 
Seabury being deceased. In order to engage me for 
that purpose, he had previously learned my charac- 
ter, my method, my present extensive mission, my 
infirmity of body, and my salary. Upon a considera- 
tion of these particulars, at the same time represent- 
ing Hempstead as a place of health, unpolished with 
high living, and of sole residence, as application 
had been made to the Society for uniting Oyster Bay 
and Huntington, so that a missionary would preach 
at Hempstead only; the maintenance better and paid 
punctually. These general reasons, he thought, 
would induce me to go. I told him it was a truth, I 
was greatly and frequently out of health, and often 
lame w T ith the rheumatism, so as to put me to much 
pain, and thereby made my fatiguing mission, much 
more fatiguing and wearisome, that I had no cer- 
tainty of either's growing better at present, that my 
removal would be greatly to my advantage, and to 
my ease; that there I should have no riding, but be 
confined to my study, and one Church and parish; 
that the income would well support my family, and 
enable me to provide against sickness, old age, or 
an increasing family. These particulars I told him, 
were to my liking, and I had no objection to avail 
myself of them. But there were two difficulties 
which must be removed before I could give an an- 
swer. The first is, that as far as I am able to judge, 
the people under my care have no aversion to my 
person, or my public performances, that therefore 
they would be dissatisfied should I think of leaving 
them. And in the second place, when I went for or- 
ders, they contributed near j£60 lawful money, to 
help bear my expenses, which money I should little 
better than cheat them of, should I go away, and 



21 

not repay them, which I am determined not to do. 
As to the first difficulty, says he, I suppose you are 
under no other obligations than other missionaries^ 
and your removing to another place, is but taking 
care of another branch of the same family. If 
you do them no injustice, they cannot complain, and 
you do them no injustice if you have faithfully done 
your duty whilst you were with them. If the duty 
be hard and income small, there can lay no obliga- 
tions upon any man honestly to accept a call where 
the duty is easy, and the income sufficient, and where 
he may be just as serviceable in the Church. Your 
people may have another gentleman whom they may 
like as well, and who ought to take his turn in per- 
forming the harder duty, and without any farther cost 
to them. For although we knew nothing about your 
engagements to this people in sending you home for 
orders, yet that shall make no difficulty, as we will 
repay it, if they don't be supplied without. This 
was the substance of our conversation, which I told 
him I should communicate to my friends, and for 
that purpose put in writing immediately. 

" The above I read November 5th at New Milford, 
which was unanimously opposed, and I was earnest- 
ly desired to drop all thoughts of leaving them, 
which was agreed. Finis " 

While Mr. Davies was in the mission, he made fre- 
quent applications to the Secretary of the Society, 
Dr. Burton, for obtaining donations of books, for 
his own benefit, and that of his people. In one of 
his letters he writes, u I hope the honorable Society 
will not be offended at me, if I humbly request the 
favor of a library for this mission. Most of my books 
which I purchased while in London, with all the 
money I could spare, are lent out amongst my par- 
ishioners, who are exceedingly fond of reading." 
And again, " there are so many poor people in my 
mission that the pamphlets which were sent by 



22 

me,* fell greatly short of a supply for them. Many 
have desired me to petition the Society for some 
Church books. Calvinism has produced a brood of 
infidels in my mission, and a few well written answers 
to deists would be an acceptable favor." At anoth- 
er time he writes, " As many of my people have ask- 
ed me for the book of Homilies, and I never yet was 
owner of any, should be very thankful if the Soci- 
ety would be pleased to send me one for their benefit 
as well as mine." 

In answer to these frequent solicitations, Mr. 
Davies received a letter from the Secretary of the 
Society, dated May 12, 1764, in which he writes, 
" The Society have granted you a library, among 
which are, as you particularly desired, against Deism, 
also fifty small Common Prayer Books, to be distrib- 
uted to your poor, as you think proper. I shall take 
care to send them soon. You are desired to insert 
in the title page of each of the Library books, that 
it is the gift of the Society for the use of the Mission, 
and also to give a bond to the Church Wardens, to 
deliver the books to them for the use of vour succes- 
sors, whenever you shall quit the mission." In re- 
ply to this, on the 24th December, 1764, Mr. Davies 
wrote as follows: " My sincerest thanks to the be- 
nevolent Society for the books, which I now grate- 
fully and heartily acknowledge the receipt of. They 
came safe and in good order, viz.: a Library for the 
Mission, for which I have given my bond to the 
Church Wardens, according to order; Mr. Leland's 
Review, fifty small Prayer Books, for the poor of 
this mission, which I have divided to each town in 
proportion — and in each shall distribute unto the 
properest objects, chiefly orphan children." 

The bond which was given by Mr. Davies for the 



* This was probably when he was in England. 



23 

surrendering of this library to his successors, was 
given to the Wardens of the Church in New Milford, 
where the Library was kept and devoted to the use 
for which it was originally designed. During Mr. 
Davies' ministry the parish seems to have been con- 
stantly increasing, as would appear from the large 
number of baptisms recorded by him, as having been 
preformed there. The number of its families was 
seventy-two; communicants forty-three. Contiguous 
to this parish on the east, and connected with it as 
a part of Mr. Davies* mission, was the parish of 

ROXBURY. 

This may be said to be one of, if not indeed quite 
the oldest parish within the limits of Litchfield county, 
dating its organization as far back as the year 1740, 
a period earlier than that of any other parish of 
which we have any written records extant. It was 
organized by the Rev. Mr. Beach of Newtown, and 
was for a considerable time, the only Episcopal par- 
ish, within the limits of the town of Woodbury, to 
which Roxbury at that time belonged. Some account 
is given by Mr. Davies of its house of worship in his 
correspondence with the Society. In a letter of his, 
dated April 13, 1762, he speaks of his having re- 
ceived invitations to preach in " Hartford and Wood- 
bury," and says " In each of the above named pla- 
ces, the people are resolved to erect Churches." 
And in another, dated June 25, 1764, he says, " In 
Roxbury, a parish in Woodbury, there is a pretty 
Church, neatly finished." This Church stood on 
the hill between the centre of Roxbury and what 
is now called Transylvania. The proportion of min- 
isterial services which Mr. Davies devoted to this 
parish, was one Sunday in five; and the number of 
baptisms performed by him was large, considering 
the size of the parish, which consisted of thirty-four 



24 

families, and twenty-eight communicants. A few 
Episcopal families resided at that time in the centre 
of 

WOODBURY. 

Here Mr. Davies made occasional visits, and bap- 
tized some children. As there was no Episcopal 
house of worship at that time in the centre of Wood- 
bury, his services were performed in the Town 
House,* though they were, as might naturally be 
expected, infrequent, and at far-distant intervals. 
The same might be said also of 

NEW FAIRFIELD. 

Which, though included in the original appoint- 
ment of Mr. Davies, as a part of his mission, re- 
ceived only his occasional visits. His records barely 
mention the fact of his having solemnized one mar- 



* Upon one occasion of his preaching in the Town House in Wood- 
bury, an incident has been related by an aged lady who w T as at that 
time residing in the place, and a member of the Congregational Church, 
which, as it is illustrative of some of the prevailing peculiarities of those 
times, and reflects some light upon the character of Mr. Davies, as a 
preacher, may not be deemed altogether unworthy of having a sufficient 
space for its insertion assigned to it in this narrative. It is said, that 
not long after Mr. Davies' return from England, where he had been for 
the purpose of receiving orders, and but a short time subsequently to 
his having entered upon the duties of his mission as he was looking 
round among the various towns of the county, to find out the Episcopal 
families, and their places of residence, he came to Woodbury, and held 
a religious service. The people of course, from curiosity, or novelty, or 
some other motive, naturally ran together in a considerable number, to 
see and hear the Church clergyman. As the form of worship was new, 
and not altogether regarded with an unprejudiced mind by the specta- 
tors, they were led to express their opinion of its merits by a smile. 
Upon this, Mr. Davies with great power and earnestness, his own mind 
affected even to tears, stopped and rebuked them, and addressed them 
m so effective and winning a manner as to gain the sympathy and kind 
feelings of his entire audience, and prepared the way for their listening 
to him through the remainder- of his performances, with an attention 
which could hardly have been anticipated from so unfavorable and so 
untoward a beginning. 



25 

riage there, but give no evidence of his having per- 
formed any baptisms. It is probable that there was 
no organized parish, or any Episcopal house of wor- 
ship in this place at that time. Nor is it known that 
there has been any, down to this present day. In this 
respect it constitutes, with a single exception, the 
only place which was then included within the range 
of Mr. Davies' ministerial labors, in which an Epis- 
copal Church has not been organized, and a house of 
worship erected. And this instance of exception to 
which allusion has been made is to be found in the 
town of 

CORNWALL. 

This town is celebrated as having been the place 
of residence of one of the first converts to Episco- 
pacy, the Rev. Solomon Palmer, who was settled in 
it as a Congregational minister, some time about the 
year 1742. After the lapse of some ten years or 
more from the time of his settlement, and before his 
people were at all aware of his intentions as to the 
course which he was designing to pursue, he made 
to them a communication on Sunday, informing them 
that by investigation and reading he had become con- 
vinced, and felt it his duty to conform to the Epis- 
copal Church. Obtaining a dismission from them, 
he went to England and was ordained by the Bishop 
of Bangor, at the request of the Bishop of London, 
who was then disabled by sickness from attending to 
the duties of his office, some time in the year 1754. 
He was then received into the service of the Society 
for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and 
became the Society's Missionary in Litchfield county, 
making his place of residence at New Milford. His 
change of sentiments, may perhaps have exerted an 
influence in favor of the Episcopal Church, which 
may have opened a way for its introduction into 

3 



26 

Cornwall. We find that upon occasion of a visit 
which w r as made to that place by Mr. Davies, on the 
26th of March, 1764, he records the fact of his hav- 
ing given a discharge to the dissenting collector, for 
nearly twenty different individuals, most of whom 
were heads of families, and cherishing a decided 
preference for the Episcopal Church. But that the 
influence of the denominational peculiarities of the 
Church of England did not prevail to any very con- 
siderable extent in Cornwall, would appear from a 
letter written by Mr. Davies to the Secretary of the 
Society at a period subsequently to this, in which he 
says, " All my Churches are in a flourishing condi- 
tion, Cornwall excepted" What the peculiar obsta- 
cles which stood in the way of its growth were, are 
not mentioned. Some few baptisms are recorded by 
him as having been performed there; but no Episco- 
pal house of worship has ever been built, and the 
religious services which have been held there at dif- 
ferent times by Episcopal ministers, have been very 
infrequent and seldom. There are still remaining 
in that town some few individuals of advanced age, 
though of high respectability, who retain their at- 
tachment to the Episcopal Church, and would, if the 
opportunity could be afforded to them for enjoying 
such a privilege, be glad to attend upon her services. 
The adjoining town to Cornwall upon the west, is 

SHARON. 

Previously to the time of Mr. Davies' entering up- 
on his duties as a missionary in this place, a house of 
worship had been erected, probably under the minis- 
try of his predecessor, the Rev. Ebenezer Dibble of 
Stamford, who was the first Episcopal minister, and 
the organizer of the first Episcopal Church in Shar- 
on. This building owing to the increased number of 
worshipers who had been drawn together by Mr. 



27 

Davies' ministry, was found too small to accommo- 
date his hearers, and the parish accordingly proceed- 
ed to the erection of a new one, which was raised 
on the 28th of June, 1764, being 35 feet in width, 
by 45 in length, and 19 feet posts. We find in a 
letter written by Mr. Davies to the Secretary of the 
Society, dated June 25th, 1764, the following ac- 
count given in his own language. " In Sharon" says 
he, " they had a small Church which, since I have 
attended them, has been incapable of containing my 
audience. They have at my desire, and at a consid- 
erable expense, both to them and me, erected this 
spring a new one, a very neat Church, for the coun- 
try, 45 feet long, and 35 feet wide, which is now 
finishing. For to help build this Church and the two 
I mentioned above, (i. e. one in New Milford and 
one in New Preston,) I procured from gentlemen in 
New York,* a gratuity of <£124, York currency. 55 
In another letter written by Mr. Davies to the So- 
ciety, in June, 1765, he speaks of the Church in 
Sharon as having been u so far completed, that we 
can now very conveniently assemble in it for public 
worship.' 5 It is probable that it was entirely finish- 
ed during the summer of 1765. It is said by those 
who remember to have seen it, to have been a build- 
ing which fully justified the application to it of the 
term which Mr. Davies makes use of in describing it, 
when he calls it u a very neat Church for the coun- 
try. 5 ' It was plastered inside and out, and the 
appearance which it presented is said to have been 
really neat and beautiful. It stood directly at the 
head of town street, on the eminence which lies 
in front of the stone house formerly occupied by Mr, 

* It will be seen by referring to Mr. Davies' records, appended to this 
biographical sketch, that the ministerial services performed by him from 
the 26th of February, to the 4th of March, 1764, were in the city of 
New York, which was probably the time of his going there to solicit aid 
for the erection of the Churches here mentioned. 



28 

George Kins. It was destined however, to answer 
the purpose for which it was erected but a short time. 
During the revolutionary war it was desecrated, 
turned into a barrack, and even occupied as a horse 
stable, and so badly injured that it was never after- 
wards repaired. Its frame work was permitted to 
stand, though in a very dilapidated condition, with 
its windows and doors all taken out; and as the par- 
ish suspended their religious worship for some time 
previously to the erection of their present Church, the 
old one was suffered to go to decay, and was at last 
put an end to, by its being entirely torn down and 
demolished. The number of families reported by 
Mr. Davies as belonging to the parish, in a letter of 
his, dated December 28th, 1763, was 22; number of 
communicants, 19; baptisms are also reported by him 
as having been performed at different times, and the 
condition of the parish as far as the means for in- 
formation afforded us would enable us to judge, must 
have been prosperous. The period of Mr. Davies' 
ministry in this place was cotemporary with that of 
the Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, of the Congregation- 
al denomination, between whom and himself there 
existed a high degree of intimacy and friendship. 
Situated as its adjoining town on the north, is 

SALISBURY. 

Here it would seem that a few Episcopal families 
resided, and a visit is recorded by Mr. Davies as 
having been made to them on the 23d of October, 
1764, at which time several baptisms are stated to 
have been performed by him. It is probable that 
the number of Episcopal families residing at that 
time in Salisbury, was not large, sufficiently so to 
enable them to organize a parish. And it would 
appear from the records, that Mr. Davies' ministerial 
services could have been rendered to them but occa- 



29 

sionally. Superadded to the already extensive field 
of labor which Mr. Davies had been compelled to 
traverse, he was prevailed upon by the urgent solici- 
tations of some of his parishioners who had removed 
from New Milford to a town in Berkshire county, 
Massachusetts, to favor them occasionally with the 
benefit of his ministerial services in their newly se- 
lected place of residence in 

GREAT BARRINGTON. 

The first account which we have of Mr. Davies 
officiating at Great Barrington, is in a letter of his, 
dated December 28th, 1762, in which he speaks of 
having preached some time in the preceding Septem- 
ber, to a large concourse of people at Barrington, 
sixty miles from his place of residence, where there 
were no less than forty sober and reputable fami- 
lies of the Church of England, and upon that occa- 
sion he baptized some children, and chose a clerk, a 
very regular and pious man to read prayers to the 
people. Here it would seem that the Episcopalians 
were suffering severe persecutions from the dissent- 
ers: a particular account of which is given by Mr. 
Davies in his correspondence with the Secretary of 
the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts. In his communication of December 1763, 
he writes thus: " At Barrington, (a place I have al- 
ready mentioned unto you,) the people who have 
conformed to the Church, are injured very much by 
the dissenters. They are made to support a dissent- 
ing teacher, equally with the dissenters themselves, 
and can find no release by the laws of the govern- 
ments. I have visited them and preached twice to 
a very numerous congregation. They can breathe 
their complaints no w T here except to the Honorable 
Society, having tried the courts of the government at 
considerable cost, and are obliged after all, to sit 

3* 



30 

down under their burden, to support a form of reli- 
gion which they abhor." In a previous letter of his, 
dated June 25th, 1763, he had made some statement 
upon this subject as would appear from a letter which 
he received from the Secretary, and from which the 
following is an extract. " I have received your let- 
ter of June 25th, 1763, wherein you acquaint us that 
the dissenters threaten the people of Barrington to 
send them to jail, if they will not come to meeting. 
The Society desire to be informed whether the dis- 
senters have proceeded beyond threatening, and have 
actually exercised any severities on the professors of 
the Church of England, in that place, and to know 
whether this treatment of them be for not coming to 
meeting, or for refusing to contribute to the support 
of their minister. Your request of some small Prayer 
Books, and pious tracts for the poor of Barrington 
is granted, and I shall send them by the first conven- 
ient opportunity. 

Your affectionate brother 

And humble servant, 

Daniel Burton." 

In the reply which Mr. Davies makes to this let- 
ter he writes as follows: u As to the affairs at Bar- 
rington, the threatening was, for their not going to 
meeting. Which threatening I do not find was car- 
ried into execution; the dissenters there being better 
advised. Although just before I wrote in June, 1763, 
they did imprison fifteen days, two persons of as 
good character as any in the town; the one educated 
in the Church, the other a Lutheran, for no other 
reason but because they did not go to meeting. As 
to their rates or ministerial tax, which amounts to 
about <£20 sterling, per annum, that they are obliged 
to pay, without the least hesitation, to support the 
dissenting teacher, although he, in almost all his 
sermons, casts the bitterest invectives and sarcasms 
against the Church of England as a Church." In 



31 

another letter written by Mr. Davies in December, 
1764, he acknowledges the receipt of a u bundle for 
Barrington," " which," says he, " I shall carry and 
distribute myself." " I have visited Great Barring- 
ton and the parts adjacent, in October last, and 
shall, if God permit, set out directly for that place, 
in order to open a very elegant and large Church, 
which those people have erected at great expense, 
and whilst laboring under the severest ill treatment 
from their brethren, the dissenters. If the honor- 
able Society desire, I would transmit an exact de- 
tail of proceedings in that town since I united the 
people as a Church, together with a copy of my ser- 
mon which 1 shall preach at the opening of their 
church." In still another letter written subsequent- 
ly to this in June, 1765, Mr. Davies says: " On 
Christmas day I opened the new Church at Great 
Barrington, with a numerous audience, administered 
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to fourteen, and 
baptism to four children. Mr. Bostwick, a graduate 
of Yale College, and a candidate for Holy Orders, 
continues to read prayers, and the Rev. Dr. Warn- 
er's collection of sermons to the people. The dis- 
senting teacher there, seems exceedingly embittered 
against the Church people and me, and says he shall 
write to the Society about something that has offend- 
ed him in one of my letters. If the Society consider 
them as in my charge I w T ould take the liberty, (at 
their earnest solicitation,) to request a Bible and 
Common Prayer book for the use of that Church." 
The sermon which is alluded to by Mr. Davies in his 
letter to the Secretary of the Society, was preached 
as will be seen by referring to the records, on Christ- 
mas day, the 25th of December, 1764, from the pas- 
sage of Scripture found in St. Matthew, xxi. 13 
verse. It was printed at the Providence press soon 
after its delivery, and some copies of it are said to 
be still extant. Those who remember to have pe- 



32 

rused it, speak of it as having been characterised by 
much neatness, simplicity, and purity of style in its 
composition, and to have set forth a statement of the 
order and form of worship prescribed by the Episco- 
pal Church, defended with much clearness, candor, 
and force of reasoning. I find no entry made in Mr. 
Davies' records of any visit made by him to Great 
Barrington subsequently to the time of his going 
there to open their new Church, and it is probable 
that from this period the congregation were left in 
charge with Mr. Bostwick, w T ho was a native of New 
Milford, and it is believed the first settled Episcopal 
clergyman in the town of Great Barrington. 

As a matter of historical curiosity, and without 
any intention to furnish materials for perpetuating 
unkind feelings towards those who may have been 
concerned in the transactions which are mentioned, 
it may be proper to transcribe a part of Mr. Davies' 
correspondence, which has reference to the state of 
affairs in the Church in 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

Here it would seem that certain lands had been re- 
served in the grants which had been given by the En- 
glish government, for the settlement of some of the 
New Hampshire towns, and that these lands were to 
be appropriated to such use as the Society for Propa- 
gating the Gospel might see fit. Such as the erection 
of the first Church, and the settlement of the first 
minister as was customary in those times. And the 
manner in which the Society's rights in those town- 
ships were disposed of, is shown by Mr. Davies in his 
correspondence with the Society's Secretary. In 
one of his communications he says: u I have receiv- 
ed credible information from some of my parishioners 
who have removed to the new settlements in the New 
Hampshire government, that the lands sequestered to 



33 

the Honorable Society, in the new towns, lately pa- 
tented by the government, are laid out in such a man- 
ner by the agents, as renders the donation good for 
nothing. For the agents in most of the towns being 
dissenters, in the division of the lands, contrary to 
all rule in such like cases, if the Society's right fall 
in good land they alter it, and take particular care so 
to bound the land that the Society's right shall be 
upon some barren, rocky, and mountainous part, so 
that in fact the land laid out for the Society is not 
worth accepting, nor will perhaps in ten ages sell for 
the cost of laying it out. This they tell me is the 
case in all the towns they are acquainted with, (Ar- 
lington excepted,) in which Jehiel Hawley, late one 
of my parishioners was agent, who would, I believe, 
very willingly, being a sensible and well dispo- 
sed man, assist in laying out the Society's land, 
had he any authority from the Society for that pur- 
pose." 

Another subject upon which it may be proper to 
make extracts from Mr. Davies' correspondence is 
that which has reference to the state of political af- 
fairs in the country, especially during the latter pe- 
riod of his ministry. A revolutionary spirit had be- 
gun to manifest itself among the people, owing to a 
recent act of Parliament, probably the famous Stamp 
Act, which was passed about this time, in the year 
1765, and created no small excitement among the 
colonies, who thought they discovered in it some- 
thing of a religious as well as a political bearing. 
But Mr. Davies did not hesitate to enforce upon his 
people the duty of submission to the " higher powers, 
whether to the King as supreme, or unto Governors 
as those who are sent by him for the punishment of 
evil doers, and for the praise of them who do well." 
On the 22nd of September, 1765, he records the fact 
of his having cautioned his people in New Milford, 
to take no part in the opposition which was then 



34 

prevailing. And in a letter of his written in the 
year 1765, he gives a more particular account of the 
matter as follows: " It is with pleasure I can assure 
the Society that my parishioners I believe, without 
exception, continue by word and action to be quiet, 
peaceable, and loyal, whilst universally, the dissen- 
ters of the various denominations by word and ac- 
tion, oppose and condemn the late act of Parliament, 
and appear in the greatest ferment, as though some 
mighty change was taking place. I have never 
troubled my people with the question in a political 
light, but have in public and private, shown the va- 
rious obligations we are under of subjection and 
obedience to our sovereign, King George, &c." 
Another letter which must have been written soon 
after, concludes with the following in reference to 
the same subject: " Of the tumults in the land I 
have the satisfaction of knowing that the people 
under ray care have had not the least share by word 
or deed, although indirectly, I myself have had a 
part. For, in September, when the rage of the pop- 
ulace was high, and reflections against England, 
King, Society, and Parliament, issued from priest and 
people, I judged it proper to show my people pub- 
licly as well as privately, their duty in the present 
juncture, and cautioned them to behave peaceably 
and loyally, reminding them of our prayers against 
sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion, which to 
them gave satisfaction. Whilst to the dissenters 
who more or less attend where I preach, and from 
them to others, it raised resentment and revenge, 
in consequence of which, I was threatened to be 
mobbed, burnt in effigy, and to have my house razed.* 

* It may he proper to state in this connection, that the stand which 
was recommended by Mr. Davies to his people to be taken by them, in 
reference to the political affairs of the country, was afterwards taken by 
his family connections during the Revolutionary War, and that by it, 
they were rendered obnoxious to the most violent persecuting rage of 



35 

But all the disadvantage to me or the Church is, the 
being better respected by the more judicious dissen- 
ters. However, as the tumults in the land still ex- 
ist, should be glad at present, if any thing in my let- 
ters should be inserted in the abstract, that the ex- 
pressions upon that head, might be omitted, as law is 
dropped, and power is the supreme rule, and power 
without law is dangerous. However, I submit this 
to the wisdom of the Honorable Society, and am the 
Honorable Society's and your most obedient and de- 
voted humble servant, Thomas Davies" 

After a brief digression from the plan which I had 
marked out to pursue in the course of this narrative, 
which, how r ever, may not be regarded as altogether 
disconnected with the main object had in view T , espe- 
cially when introduced as an accompaniment to my 
second division, which required me to give some ac- 
count of the respective flocks, or the sheep over 
which Mr. Davies exercised the pastoral care, I 
hasten to the consideration of the third and last 
topic proposed to be presented to the notice of my 
readers, viz. : 

their opponents. Being prominent as members of the Church of Eng- 
land, they were of course the more prominent objects for political party 
spleen to vent itself upon. Some of them were forcibly seized, lodged 
in the Litchfield jail, where, having passed a considerable period of time 
in no very enviable state of confinement, they were at length brought to 
trial and acquitted, the court having decided that although there was 
ground for suspicion, yet there was not evidence sufficient to convict them 
of any thing penal, and that they might consequently be dismissed upon 
condition of their paying the entire cost. It may not be improper also to 
mention as an incident worthy of preservation, that on one occasion 
having been applied to by a man after the close of the war, who had been 
instrumental in driving away a number of cows from his farm, and had 
committed other acts of plunder, for relief in his then destitute circum- 
stances, Mr. Davies freely forgave him his former injurious conduct, 
and sent him away with a present of a bushel of wheat for his family. 
It may not be uninteresting likewise to state that it being his custom to 
present annually a fat cow to the Rev. Mr. Marshall, of Woodbury, it 
was necessary for him in those troublous times to take a circuitous route 
for fear of being intercepted, which he once did by going round by way 
of Bethlem. 



36 

III. The manner in which he exemplified the 
characteristic of the good Shepherd- by u giving his 
life for the sheep." 

It will be seen that the field of labor in which Mr. 
Davies was called to exercise his ministry was ardu- 
ous, being compelled as he was, to travel over al- 
most the entire circuit of Litchfield County. And 
the constantly increasing number of Episcopalians 
in all the different places between which his time 
was divided must have increased the demand which 
was made upon him for ministerial services, and 
rendered it almost impossible for him to discharge 
the duties which were incumbent upon him by the 
peculiarities of his situation. Knowing that his 
health and constitution were incapable of enduring 
the exertions which would be requisite for enabling 
him to do justice to the wants of so extensive a cure, 
he repeatedly urged upon the Society the necessity 
and importance of having his mission divided. A 
letter was received by him in answer to several ap- 
plications which had been made by him to the Soci- 
ety upon the subject, dated April 30th, 1764, of 
which the following is an extract: " We have had 
frequent representations both from yourself and oth- 
ers, of the large extent of your mission, and the 
great expediency of sending another missionary to 
your parts. The Society have begun to take this 
matter into consideration, and desire to be informed, 
if this scheme should take effect, in what manner 
you would propose to have your mission divided, 
what towns each of you would settle in, and what 
contributions might be expected from the people." 
In answer to this, Mr. Davies writes as follows: 
u It is a matter of joy to me, and my people, that 
the Honorable Society have begun to consider our 
circumstances, and to propose a division of this 
mission. And according to your instructions, with 
the approbation of each part of the mission, I 



37 

should be glad to have the towns of New Milford, 
Woodbury, Kent, and New Fairfield, in one mission, 
in which part J should choose to reside, being already 
settled in New Milford, and having purchased a 
small inheritance there. In this part there will be 
three places where I shall preach upon the Sunday, 
in Roxbury, a parish in Woodbury, in New Milford, 
and in New Preston. This part of the mission pro- 
pose to contribute .£30 sterling, per annum. Litch- 
field, Cornwall, and Sharon, are the places in the 
other part, where a missionary will officiate on Sun- 
days. In Litchfield the missionary will reside it is 
probable. This part of the mission propose to give 
<£30 sterling, per annum. There are a number of 
towns more in this county which will naturally be 
included in that part of the mission, viz.: Goshen, 
Torrington, Harwinton, New Hartford, Norfolk, 
Salisbury and Canaan, in which places are a few 
Church people who desire to come under the Society ? s 
protection. In Hartland are a considerable body of 
Church people, lying contiguous to Simsbury, and 
very remote from Litchfield; who would choose to be 
included in Mr. Viet's mission. If the Honorable 
Society be pleased thus to divide this mission, or in 
any other form as shall seem most expedient, it will 
be easing me of a burden which at present is exceed- 
ingly heavy, and which long my constitution will 
not permit me to bear. It will be doing great good 
to the souls of many people. It will be a means 
of greatly promoting the interests of the Church 
in these back-wood settlements, and will be a great 
and inexpressible favor to us in general, and in par- 
ticular to your and the Society's humble servant, 

Thomas Davies. 

No answer to the above letter having been receiv- 
ed from the Society, Mr. Davies, in a letter dated 
June 1765, wrote again as follows. " I have baptiz- 

4 



38 

ed forty-one children, this last half year, and have 
made it my faithful endeavor to perform all the duties 
of my holy office, to each part of my mission, not- 
withstanding the distances of places, and the inclem- 
ency of the weather, which have tended to the 
emaciating of my body, and the depreciating of my 
substance; and considering these difficulties, I should 
have accepted with the Society's liberty, of an ad- 
vantageous offer made me for removing, had not the 
interest of religion in general, and the progress of 
the Church in particular, in these exterior parts, in- 
duced me to refuse it, and to remain here, where my 
duty is fourfold and my income little more than one 
quarter, — in truth where my income with the utmost 
frugality, just keeps me even with the world. It 
however, greatly alleviates my difficulties, to see all 
my parishes flourish; not only as to the number of 
professors, but also in knowledge of the genuine 
principles of our holy religion, and a practical con- 
formity to it. And it rejoices my heart to be made 
instrumental in the propagation of just principles of 
the gospel, among a large body of people where the 
wild freaks of enthusiam on the one hand, and pro- 
fessed infidelity on the other, in degrees abound.'' 

Subjoined to the letter of which the above is an 
extract, I find the following postscript: 

P. S. " I hope my letter of June — 64, came safe, 
in which I informed the Society that we should be 
greatly rejoiced, to have New Milford, Woodbury, 
Roxbury, and New Fairfield in one mission, and 
Litchfield, Cornwall and Sharon, with the towns in 
the northern part of the county, in the other; and 
that each part promises when that shall take place, 
to pay .£30 Sterling per annum, although I have not 
had the pleasure of hearing any thing from England 
yet on that head." It is not known that any letter 
from the Society had been received by Mr. Davies, in 
answer to either of the above communications. And 



39 

yet it would seem that he had received intelligence 
in some way, that his wishes in regard to the propos- 
ed plan of having a division effected in his mission 
had been complied with, as would appear from the 
following, written by himself, and bearing date, Dec* 
26th 1765. 

He says, " In the last abstract of the proceedings 
of the Honorable Society, I saw their resolve for 
the dividing of this mission, which I read to my 
people, who greatly rejoiced, expressing their thanks 
to the Honorable Society. The northern part, in 
consequence, applied to Mr. Tyler, a graduate of 
Yale College, to read prayers, with a prospect of 
having him for their minister. But whether so fa- 
tiguing a mission will not deter him or any other from 
undertaking it, is yet undetermined.* The truth is, 
the northern part, or Litchfield, Sharon, &c, will be 
the more laborious part of the mission, but for the 
benefit of having another missionary in the county, 
I would be content, if the Society permit, to remove 
there, being I think equally well respected by the 
people in both parts. I shall continue my attend- 
ance at each Church as heretofore, notwithstanding 
a reader. The people expect it, but shall give up 
my rates to the people in one half the mission, to 
support a reader, until a missionary arrives. This is 
what the people equally expect, and I have prom- 



* It is probable that this plan of appointing a lay reader for the mis- 
sion was never carried into effect. The above letter, as will be seen by 
the date, was written but a short time previously to Mr. Davies death. 
And in reading the life of Dr. Johnson, (see Chandler's Life of John- 
son, page 122,) I find it stated, that in the year 1767, a " Mr. Tyler y 
then a candidate for Holy Orders, was procured to assist him by reading 
prayers and a sermon to his congregation in Stratford, when the Dr. 
himself was unable to officiate." If this g3ntleman be the same as the 
Mr. Tyler mentioned by Mr. Davies — as in all probability it was — we 
may then naturally infer that he declined the invitation for becoming a 
lay reader in Litchfield county, and put himself under the instruction 
of that eminent divine and teacher of theology, the Rev. Dr. Johnson. 



40 

ised; I would therefore, humbly request of the 
Honorable Society, the favor and liberty of drawing 
for the whole salary from England, until a mission- 
ary is appointed for one part; my necessities require 
it, and I hope my labor is not wholly undeserving." 

P. S. u I should be glad to obtain from the Hon- 
orable Society, liberty for the people of this mission 
to send a proper person for the Honorable Society's 
instruction and for Holy Orders." 

But the sickness and death of Mr. Davies, pre- 
vented the contemplated plan of dividing his mission, 
and thereby relieving him of a part of his onerous 
duties from being carried into effect. The labors 
of his arduous and extensive missionary circuit had 
been too long endured — his health was becoming too 
much impaired, and his constitution naturally feeble, 
was entirely undermined. In the early part of Feb- 
ruary, he was taken with a fever which settled upon 
his lungs, and left him feeble. His congregation 
were anxious to do every thing in their power for his 
benefit, and at their suggestion he was prevailed 
upon to go out to ride before he was able. This, in- 
stead of being beneficial, was rather injurious, and 
his complaint was very soon discovered to be assum- 
ing the form of a quick consumption. A bunch ap- 
peared upon his side, and his friends were in hopes 
that if it could but be made to discharge outwardly, 
it might give a favorable turn to his complaint. To 
avail themselves of the advice of a consulting phy- 
sician, by which to enable them to decide upon the 
expediency of having a surgical operation performed, 
Dr. Perry of Woodbury was sent for. But while 
they were turning him in bed to examine his bunch, 
it suddenly broke, and flowing inwardly upon his 
lungs, became almost instantaneously the cause of 
his death. Thus to the great and inexpressible grief 
of his friends, the painful bereavement of his fam- 



41 

ily,* and the universal mourning of all who knew 
him, was the Church deprived of one of her most 



* On the first day of April, 1762, soon after Mr. Davies' entrance 
upon the duties of his mission, he had been married to Miss Mary 
Hervey, a daughter of Mr. Joel Hervey, of Sharon, who had been edu- 
cated in the principles of the Church of England, to which her father 
— an Englishman by birth — was very strongly attached, and of which 
he was a firm supporter in the town where he resided. At the time of 
his death, he was the father of two children. 

William, his eldest, a son, born March 21, 1763, and 
Charlotte, his younger, a daughter, born February 12, 1765, bap- 
tized as will be seen by referring to the records, on the 7th day of April, 
1765. She was married on the 27th day of March, 1783, to Jonathan 
Burrell, Esq., a merchant of Canaan, Litchfield county, Connnecticut, 
where she resided until the time of her death, which occurred on the 23d 
day of July, 1789 ; she left behind her two sons. 

His son William resided with his grandfather Hervey, in Sharon, until 
he was thirteen years of age, and then again a short time before his re- 
moval to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in the year 1799, where he still survives, 
enjoying now in the 80th year of his age, a degree of bodily health and 
mental vigor, which enables him with the assistance of his two sons, 
Thomas Z#. Davies, Esq., President of the Poughkeepsie Bank, and an- 
other son of his own name, to take an active part in the management of 
his business affairs, and to superintend the concerns of an estate, the 
largest, as it is said, in possession of any individual in the county of 
Dutchess. The widow of the Rev. Mr. Davies, survived him a period 
of about seventeen years, and died at the residence of the Hon. Lot 
Norton, of Salisbury, to whom she had been married but a short time 
previously to her death. 

Mrs. Davies was a woman who had never been remarkable for attach- 
ing importance to the prevailing superstitions of the times in which she 
lived, but during her husband's sickness, — the Rev. Mr. Davies — she did 
experience a strange presentiment. Upon a certain occasion, a funeral 
procession appeared to her, as if coming in a straight direction towards 
the house, a corpse preceding, and followed by a long line of attend- 
ants. No sooner was the unreal nature of what was at first supposed 
by her to have been an actual occurrence discovered, than she imme- 
diately interpreted it into something ominous of her husband's death. 
And from that time, she began to converse with him more freely upon 
subjects connected with the event of his approaching departure from 
the world. He, as it would seem, had been aware of his danger, and 
had looked forward to the prospect of a fatal termination of his complaint, 
without dismay. Upon one occasion, being asked by his wife, whether 
he thought it would be possible for him to manifest himself to her in 
some manner, after death ; he replied, that he thought not — that such 
intercourse between the living and the dead would be more than she 
could have reason to expect. And if indeed it could be so, if after his 
decease and burial he should in some supernatural way be able to render 

4* 



42 

promising ministers, when he was just entering upon 
the thirtieth year of his age, and before he had com- 
pleted the fifth of his ministry, on the 12th of May. 
1766. His remains were interred in the grave yard 
of New Milford, where they now lie covered over 
by a monumental slab of black slate, supported hor- 
izontally by a stone pediment, and presenting to the 
eye of the passer by, the following indistinct, though 
yet legible inscription: 

IN MEMORY OF THE 

REV. THOMAS DAVIES. 

A FAITHFUL SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST. 
AN ACTIVE, WORTHY MISSIONARY, 

FROM THE VENERABLE SOCIETY IN ENGLAND. 

WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE. 

MAT 12, 1766. 
IN THE THIRTIETH TEAR OF HIS AGE. 

He met death with the greatest Christian fortitude, being supported 
by the rational hope of a blessed immortality. 



The eweet remembrance of the just. 
Does flourish, now he sleeps in dust. 

Vita bene acta, jucundissima est recordatio. 

As corroborative testimony to the justness of what 
is said of Mr. Davies in this inscription, when it 
speaks of him as " a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. 
an active worthy missionary;' 5 it may not be inap- 
propriate to refer to the manner in which an in- 
cidental mention is made of him in the abstract of 
the proceedings of the Society, in whose employ- 
ment he was laboring, published the same year as 



himself visible, such an event would rather terrify than console her under 
her bereavement, and would therefore for wise reasons and from a regard 
to her own happiness, be doubtless rendered impracticable. 



43 

that within which his death occurred. Alluding to 
the loss w T hich had been sustained by the Litchfield 
County mission, by his decease, the same official 
communication after furnishing the Society witli the 
intelligence of his death, proceeds to speak of the 
estimate which had been formed of his character, as 
one who had been regarded, to quote the succession 
of epithets made use of, as a " worthy, pious, pru- 
dent, zealous, and laborious missionary. 55 And the 
manner in which he exemplified in his life and minis- 
try, the possession of these distinguishing character- 
istics of a clergyman, might, we think, from the 
foregoing narrative, be considered as placed beyond 
the possibility of a doubt. That he was u zealous 
and laborious 55 in the discharge of his ministerial 
duties, would require no better proof by which to 
substantiate its correctness than the record of what 
he did. The sermons which he preached, the bap- 
tisms which he performed, and the number of com- 
municants which he added to his different Churches, 
show that his labors must have been as great as his 
ministry was in a high degree blessed. The active, 
self-denying, and arduous services to w T hich he devot- 
ed himself with so much unremitting zeal and assi- 
duity, sufficiently testify to the fact of his possessing 
the true missionary spirit as well as name. If he did 
not pour out his soul in heathen lands, or whilst la- 
boring to uplift the standard of the cross amidst be- 
nighted pagans, it was because the Great Head of 
the Church had not called him to serve in that part of 
his vineyard. But he did, in a remote, and then 
comparatively unknown section of our own country, 
contend with difficulties the most formidable; he 
did endure privations the most severe, he did en- 
counter fatigue the most exhausting; and yet un- 
der all these circumstances of extreme hardship and 
discouragement, he did decline the offer which was 
made to him of removing to a situation which pre- 



44 

sented to him the prospect of greater ease and emol- 
ument. Perseverance, the cardinal virtue of the 
missionary character, active and untiring, undismay- 
ed by no perils however iminent, undeterred by no 
labors however hard, imparting new energy and men- 
tal vigor, even when bodily health was constantly 
declining, and acquiring strength to overcome obsta- 
cles just in proportion to the magnitude and arduous- 
ness of the work to be performed, was conspicuously 
displayed in him. His life may be said to have been 
given for the edification and salvation of the flocks 
to which he ministered. And when he could do no 
more, he was obliged to leave the result of his labors 
with the Being from whom alone the increase could 
proceed, and console himself with the thought of 
his having at least, as he himself expresses it in one 
of his letters to the Society, " Endeavored faithfully 
to discharge the duties of a minister of Christ and a 
missionary of the Society." For his unwearied ef- 
forts for the advancement of the Church in Litchfield 
County, by the numerous acts of hardship and self- 
denial to which he submitted, and the influence and 
popularity, to which as a preacher* he attained, he 



* Those who remember to have heard Mr. Davies speak of him as 
being decidedly superior in the merit of his pulpit performances. His 
personal appearance prepossessing, his delivery forcible, and the compo- 
sition of his sermons exhibiting marks of scholarship in advance of the 
crenerality of preachers of the time in which he lived. Some specimens 
of his original poetry still extant, bear testimony to his not being alto- 
gether desitute of skill in the art of putting his ideas together in the 
form of verse. It is the opinion of an aged and venerable presbyter of 
the Church, the once Rector, but now superannuated minister and mem- 
ber of the Church in Litchfield, that if Mr. Davies had survived until 
that period of our ecclesiastical history had arrived, there was probably 
no clergyman then in our Diocese, who would have been more generally 
looked to for filling the office of its first Bishop. Allusion having been 
made to Mr. Davies' poetical talent, it may be proper to mention, that 
among his papers, written probably in the more juvenile period of his 
life, there are found pieces of poetry upon the following subjects : — one 
bearing date, November 5, 1759, entitled, " A broken sentiment, occa- 
sioned by ruptures observed among such as are called lovers." Another 
November 6, probably of the same year, called " An imperfect thought 



45 

has entitled himself to the gratitude of all those who 
are now reaping the benefit of his labors, and we 
trust that the superstructures which have been subse- 
quently upreared upon those strong foundations* 
which were laid by him, will, so long as they contin- 
ue to exist, be living monuments for transmitting his 
name to future generations, and thus perpetuating 
his memory. 

And in addition to what was done by him as a 
minister, it is to be hoped also, that the marked speci- 
mens of generous devotedness and liberality to the 
Church of which they were members, exhibited by his 
grandfather and father, as the respective founders of 
the Churches in Litchfield and Washington, will not, 



on hearing the grand, superb, magnificent, &c, French Invasion had 
been laid aside." Another, entitled " The Negroe's hardships and con- 
version." Another, bearing date, November 17, 1759, which seems to 
have been a " Putting in Rhyme" of a piece which he had read on the 
political subjugation of the Irish to the English. Another, dated No- 
vembei 8, 1759, undor the title of *? Virtue, the rath to iJIiss.'* And an- 
other which we shall give below, as a specimen of the rest ; not from 
its possessing any superior excellence, so much as from the consideration 
of its greatest brevity. Its subject is 

" THE COMMANDMENTS." 

1. One God there is — Him only thou shalt fear, 

2. Nor make to sculptured idol's fruitless pra)^er, 

3. Take not thy awful Maker's name in vain, 

4. Nor the grand Sabbath of thy God profane ; 

5. Honor thy parents — blessings crown the deed — 

6. Nor by thy murdering hands let others bleed. 

7. Shun with the wife unlawful, lewd, delight, 

8. Nor dare usurping steal another's right. 

9. False witness bear not, and thy oath revere, 
10. Nor madly covet what thy neighbors share. 

* The Churches at one time under Mr. Davies' pastoral care, are now 
supplied with the labors of no fewer than nine different ministers ; Litch- 
field, 1 ; Bradley ville and Milton, 1 ; Washington, Roxbury and Kent, 1; 
New Preston and Bridge water, 1 ; New Milford, 1 ; Sharon, 1 ; Salis- 
bury, 1 ; Great Barrington, 1 ; and Woodbury, 1 ; all of whom are now 
laboring in the same, or in Churches which have grown out of those that 
were included within the limits of Mr. Davies' mission. 



46 

so long as the facts connected with the early history 
of those parishes shall be preserved, be forgotten. 
By them for the most part, their first houses of wor- 
ship were not only erected, and kept open for a con- 
siderable period of time for the performance of reli- 
gious services, but by their instrumentality, especial- 
ly in the case of the former of the above mentioned 
parishes; present ministerial taxes have been consid- 
erably lessened by the avails of a fund with which 
it has been put in possession by his grandfather's 
liberality. And if, by the force of circumstances, 
and the changes which have occurred during the 
lapse of so great an interval of time, the Churches 
of Litchfield county have now been deprived of the 
continued residence among them of those who are 
the children and grandchildren of the nurturers and 
fosterers of their infancy; the loss which has been 
sustained by them in one respect, has not been with- 
out the acquisition of a lesson of practical benefit to 

iircm4«t ****oik &*»^ Toaekiiiff tlrem tkat wkat Ihi© been 

realized in the extinction and removal of the Davies 
name from among them, must one day be realized by 
them in reference to others, who are now occupying 
stations of importance and usefulness in the Church- 
es with which they are severally connected. One gen- 
eration passes, and another comes, and those who 
are now prominent as individuals or as families, and 
taking an active part in the concerns of our parishes, 
must soon retire, and surrender their places to others. 
Such being the case, the example of those predeces- 
sors into whose labors the present members of the 
Churches of Litchfield County have entered, should 
come home to them now with a loud lesson of re- 
proof and warning. As it was their's to have been 
distinguished for the exercise of benevolence and 
disinterested love for the Church, so it should be 
our's to show as they did by their works, that we are 
possessed of the same commendable qualities. We 



47 

should not by our remissness or covetousness allow 
ourselves to abandon one inch of that vantage ground 
which they once gained for us by their perseverance 
and self-sacrificing zeal, but aim to extend theborders 
of the Church still wider and farther. And in propor- 
tion to the advancement which is made by it, would it 
not be desirable in our country towns especially, to 
imitate their example, by investing it with something 
of that pecuniary support and endowment which they 
wisely foresaw to be necessary to the successful 
transmission of its institutions to unborn generations, 
and the placing of it upon such a footing of inde- 
pendence as is requisite to secure for it a permanence 
and stability. Then, when we have done with en- 
joying the benefits of the Church here, we shall, 
whether as ministers or laymen, if we acquit our- 
selves faithfully in the discharge of our respective 
trusts, not counting our lives even dear to ourselves, 
when a regard lor our highest usefulness and duty 
may require the making of such a sacrifice — be found 
in our respective spheres, to have fulfilled the charac- 
teristic of the " good shepherd." And when He who 
is the " chief Shepherd shall appear, we shall receive 
from him a crown of glorv which fadeth not away." 



NOTITIA PAROCHIALIS 



OF 



REV. THOMAS DAVIE S, A. M 



The following is a record of Mr. Davies' minis- 
terial acts, as kept by himself. All that were per- 
formed by him previously to the date with which this 
commences have been lost. 

November 20, 1763, New Milford, Luke xxi. 34, 
Romans iii. 23, baptized Phebe, daughter of D. 
[Daniel] Burrit, and Molly, daughter of A. [Andrew] 
Burrit. 

November 23, Roxbury, Matthew ix. 13, lecture. 

November 27, Litchfield, Hebrews, v. 9, sacrament, 
45 communicants, 1 John, iv. 1, baptized Salman 
Willoughby. 

December 4, Roxbury, Hebrews, v. 9, sacrament, 

36 communicants, Matthew xvii. 26, baptized • 

Squire. 

December 11, New Milford, Acts viii. 22, 23, Mat- 
thew xix. 17, baptized Sarah, daughter of E. [Epe- 
netus] Piatt. 

December 18, Sharon, Matthew xxii. 14, Matthew 
xix. 17. 

Christmas 25, Litchfield, John iii. 16, Matthew 
xix. 17, baptized Anna, daughter of Mattox. 

December 26, New Milford, John iii. 16. 

January 1, 1764, New Milford, John ii. 5, 10, 
Psalms xix. 7, baptized » v arah, daughter of A 6. 
[Abraham] Gillet, and Elizabeth, of Joseph Clark. 

5 



50 

January 4, New Preston, a lecture, Matthew xxii. 
14. baptized Ephraim, son of H. Dean, Margaret 
Ann of Sharp. 

January 8, Roxbury, John iii. 16, Acts viii. 22, 23. 

January 15, New Milford, Matthew xiii. 3. 

January 22, Sharon, Matthew xiii. 3, 2 Corinthi- 
ans v. 10. 

January 29, Litchfield, Luke xiii. 23, 24, Ephesi- 
ans v. 6. 

January 30, Litchfield, Lam. v. 7, New 7 Preston, 
Lam. v. 7. 

February 5, New Milford, Matthew v. 20. 

February 12, Roxbury, Matthew xiii. 3, baptized 
James, son of James Masters, Mary, daughter of 
Peter Castle, Phebe and Eunice, daughters of David 
Castle, John, son of James Squire. 

February 19, Litchfield, 1 Samuel xii. 23, 24. 

February 26, New York, Hebrews v. 9, 2 Corinthi- 
ans v. 10, in the Chapel. 

February 29, read prayers in Trinity Church. 

March 4, New York, in the morning at Trinity 
Church, 2 Corinthians v. 10, afternoon, Galatiansii. 
21, New Chapel. 

March 11, Roxbury, 1 John iii. 10, Ephesians i. 
3,4. 

March 18, New Milford, 1 Samuel xii. 23, 24. 

March 25, Litchfield, Job xxviii. 28, Matthew xxii. 
14, sacrament next. 

March 26, Cornwall, Matthew xiii. 3, gave a dis- 
charge to the dissenting collector for John Clothier, 
John Clothier, Jun., Jonathan Squire, Ichabod 
Squire, Phineas Spaulding, Jesse Squire, Obed 
Squire, Ambrose Clothier, Stephen Pangborn, John 
Pangborn, Samuel Pangborn, widow Mary Horsford, 
Elihu Allen, Samuel Dean, Thomas Harris, James 
Ponech, widow Allen and two sons, baptized Thank- 
ful, daughter of Samuel Dean. 

March 30, Sharon, Job xxviii, 28. 



51 

April 1, Sharon, Isaiah iii. 10, 11, Matthew xxv. 
30, baptized Sarah, (laughter of Elnathan Goodrich. 

April 8, New Milford, Job xxviii. 28, Ephesians 
i. 45, married Preserved Porter and Sarah Gould. 

April 9, New Milford, proxy, Matthew v. 37. 

April 11, Judeah, [Washington] 1 John ii. 12, 
John iii. 8, the Colony Fast. 

April IS, Roxbury, 1 Samuel xii. 23, 24, baptized 
Martin Hawley, Sarah Benedict, New Milford, bap- 
tized for Joseph Bostwick, Joseph and Benjamin. 

April 20, Good Friday, Litchfield, Galatians ii. 21. 

April 22, Litchfield, 1 Corinthians xv. 20, 21, 22, 
sacrament, 45 communicants, baptized George Da- 
vies, son of John Davies my father, Mark, son of 
Mr. Prindle, Anthony, son of Isaac Kilborn, Salmon, 

son of John Kilborn, , son of Wm. Hill, and 

one more. 

April 29, New Milford, 1 Corinthians xv. 3, 4, 
sacrament, 37 communicants. 

May 6, Sharon, Titus ii. 1, Galatians iii. 21, bap- 
tized Penuel, son of Samuel Hitchcock, , daugh- 
ter of Michael Buck, , son of Israel Buck, and 

one more. 

May 13, Litchfield, Titus ii. 1, 2 '"orinthians v. 10. 

May 20, Roxbury, Galatians ii. 21, Matt. xxv. 10, 
sacrament, 30 communicants. 

May 27, New Milford, 1 John iii. 4, John iv. 37, 
baptized Robert, son Jn. [John] McEwen, Eli, son 
of Justin Sherman, and a daughter of . 

June 2, East Greenwich, Heb. ii. 3, baptized Free- 
love Reney, a daughter of Zadoz Bostwick, a daugh- 
ter of Stephen Lee, and a child of Morgan's son-in- 
law. 

June 3, Litchfield, Rom. viii. 17, Eph. i. 45, bap- 
tized a daughter of Abial Smith, Jr. 

June 10, 1764, Sharon, John iii. 16, sacrament, 
Heb. ii. 3, baptized Seth, son of Mat. Ketchum, 



52 

Nicholas, son of N. Wealer, and Venus, black infant 
slave of Mr. Hervey. 

June 17. New Mil/ord, Matt. xxv. 10; xx. 1, bap- 
tized Mary, daughter of Giles Ovett, a wife of John 
Egleston, and John Godfrey, son and infant of the 
same Egleston. 

June 21, Roxbury, Mr. Dibble preached a lecture, 
returning from Convention. 

June 24, Roxbury, James ii. 8, baptized Abiather. 
son of Gideon Squire. 

June 28, The Church in Sharon was raised a struc- 
ture 35 by 45 and 19 feet posts. 

July 1, Litchfield, Heb. ii. 3, Matt. xx. 1, baptized 
Rachel, daughter of Nathaniel Smith. 

July 8, New Mil ford, Rom. viii. 17, 2 Peter i. 10. 
baptized Ezra, son of John Griswold. 

July 15, Salisbury, 2 Tim. ii. 19, 2 Peter i. 10. 

July 22, New Milford, Phil. iv. 13, Ezra xviii. 31, 
baptized Hinman, son of Wra, Hurd. 

July 29, Ptoxbury, 2 Tim. ii. 19, Rom. viii. 17. 

August 5, Litchfield, Phil. iv. 13, Ezra xviii. 31. 
baptized Mary, daughter of Giles Kilborn, and Anna, 
daughter of Willoughby. 

August 6. New Preston, 2 Peter i. 10, baptized 
Sarah daughter of Noah Hurlburt, Loavisa and Ann, 
daughter of Ingram. 

August 12, New Milford, Acts xvii. 20, Titus ii. 
11, 12. 

August 19, Salisbury, Ezek. xviii. 31, Phil. iv. 13. 

August 26, Litchfield, Titus ii, 11, 12, Hebrews xi. 
6, baptized a child of Kilborn. 

August 27, at the Goal, 1 Peter iv. 18. 

August 28, Judeah, 1 Peter iv. 18, baptized a 
daughter of Mrs. Ingram. 

September 2, Roxbury, Ez. xvii. 31, Phil. iv. 13, 

baptized M. Hawley, son of - Abenarther and 

Olive, daughter of Bronson, Christiana, daugh- 
ter of Jonathan Hurlbut. 



53 

September 9, New Milford, Heb. xi. 6; Mr. Beards- 
ley in the afternoon. 

September 13, preached at Mr. Andrew's wedding, 
Genesis ii. 

September 16, New Mil ford, 2 Timothy ii. 19, Isa. 
iii. 10, 11. 

September 23, Salisbury, Titus ii. 11, 12, Hebrews 
xi. 6, baptized Sarah Jefreys, daughter of Ebenezer 
Jefreys. 

September 30, Litchfield, 1 Cor. x, 16, 17, com- 
municants 61 ; Acts xvii. 20, baptized Silfine Culver, 
daughter of Ebenezer Culver, and two more. 

October 7, Roxbury, 1 Cor. x. 16, 17; sacrament, 
27 communicants, Hebrews xi. 6, baptized boy of Ze. 
[Zenas] Ward, and Azuba, daughter of John Squire. 

October 14, New Mil ford, 1 Cor. x. 16, 17; sacra- 
ment, 50 communicants, Romans viii. 7. 

October 21, Barrington, Ez. xviii. 31; sacrament, 
18 communicants, Phi!, iv. 13. 

October 22, Harrington, Romans viii. 17, baptized 
two adults and three children. 

October 23, Salisbury. Hebrews xi. 6, 7, baptized 
Sarah, Charity and Hyman, children of Hymnn Bog- 
rough, Samuel and Elizabeth of Lawrence and Molly 
and Jane of Abraham Knickerbocker, Elisha, Josi- 
ah and Bartholomew of Elisha Hurlbut, Solomon of 
William Whitney, Hannah and Charity of Ruluff 
Dutcher. 

October 25, Sharon, Acts xvii. 20. 

October 28, Sharon, 1 Cor. x. 16, 17, Rem. viii. 7. 

November 4, New Milford, Titus ii. 1, Hebrews ii. 
3, baptized Amoni, son of Ichabod Palmer. 

November 5, New Milford, Psalm 1. 23, baptized 
Jemima, adult, Mr. and Mrs. McEwen, sponsors; 
proposed the petition of Hempstead, for my going 
there: universally opposed by the people. 

November 11, Roxbury, Matthew xix. 17, Titus ii. 
11, 12, rainy, few people. 

5* 



54 

November 15, St. Pumpions Day,* at Eathiel 
Stone's, Hebrew v. 9, baptized Martha, Easter and 
Edmond, children of Eathiel Stone, Hannah of Gd. 
Sperry, Joseph and Huldah of Samuel Peet, and 
Daniel Smith of Daniel Smith. 

November 18, New Milford, 1 Cor. 15, 56—58; 
ix. 24, 25. 

November 20, New Fairfield, Hebrews v. 9; mar- 
ried Thadeus Lacey and Ann Case. 

November 25, Litchfield, Romans viii. 7, 1. Cor. 
ix. 24, 25; married Supream Smith and Jerushah 
Kilborn. 

December 2, Sharon, 1 Cor. xv. 56 — 58; ix. 24, 25. 

December 9, New Milford, Eph. iv. 20, John viL 
17. 

December 13, Mr. Taylor's, Psalm cxix. 96, bap- 
tized a son of Daniel Taylor, and (Diadama) daugh- 
ter of Nathaniel Taylor. The same day, by private 
baptism, Solomon, the son of Solomon Northrop. 

December 16, Roxbury, 1 Cor. xv. 56, &c, Romans 
viii. 7, married Ichabod Squire and Mary Ward. 

December 23, Litchfield, 1 Cor. xv. 56, &c, John 
vii. 17, baptized D. of Landon. 

December 25, Barrington, opened the Church; 
Matthew xxi. 13, and baptized four children. 

December 30, Sharon, Eph. iv. 20, John vii. 17. 

January 6, 1765, New Milford, Eph. iii. 6, Acts 
xix. 2. 

January 13, Roxbury, Eph. iii. 6, 1 Cor. xix. 24, 
25. 

January 20, Newtown, 1 John iii. 10, 1 Peter iv. 
18, baptized Molly, daughter of Caleb Daton. 

January 27, New Milford, Hebrews x. 38, second 
service. 



* The epithet of " St. Purapion's [or Pumpkin's] Day," was a callo. 
quial term in those days for designating the annual Thanksgiving of 
Kew England. It took its rise from the abundance of Pumpkin Pies on 
that occasion. 



55 

February 3, Litchfield, Ephesians iii. 6; iv. 20. 

February 8, New Preston, Romans viii. 7. 

February 10, New Milford. Luke iii. 17, 1 Thess. 
v. 9, Josiah Daton Buck, son of Samuel Buck. 

February 17, Roxbury, Isaiah iii. 10, 11, Eph. iv. 
20, baptized D. of Daniel Wheller. 

February 24, New Milford, Deuteronomy xxvii. 
26, 1 Kings xviii. 21. 

March 2, Litchfield, Isaiah iii. 10, 11; funeral of 
Jonathan Bishop, Jun., Luke iii. 17, baptized Benja- 
min, son of Benjamin Kilborn; sacrament next Sun- 
day. 

March 10, Sharon, 1 Peter vi. 18; i. 15, baptized 
Charles, son of Solomon Goodrich; sacrament next 
Sunday. 

March 17, Newtown, Romans iii. 28, 1 Peter i. 15. 

March 24, storm — at home. 

March 31, Litchfield, Phil. ii. 5, 1 Thess. v. 9, 
sacrament, 40 communicants; baptized Daniel son of 
Daniel Landon, Jr., Solomon, son of Solomon Kil- 
bourn, Dorcas, daughter of Elkanah Haskins. 

April 7, New Milford, John xx. 1 — 11; sacrament, 
Psalm xc. 2, baptized Charlotte, my daughter. 

April 5, Roxbury, Good Friday, Romans iii. 28. 

April 10, Woodbury, Hebrews xi. 6, married Delu- 
cena Bacchus and Electa Mallory^ baptized Sylvia, 
daughter of Dr. Perry, Alexander and Delucena of 
Mr. Stoughton, Mary Ann and Gideon Walker of 
Mr. Moody and Polly of Mr. Thompson. 

April 14, Sharon, Romans iii. 8; sacrament, Eph. 
iii. 4^ 5, baptized Achsah, daughter of Noah Munro, 
Joel, son of Ichabod Rogers and Phila, daughter of 
Jacob Bogardus. 

April 17, Colony Fast, Judeah, Micah vi. 8, christ- 
ened daughter of Abel Mix. 

April 21, Roxbury, Hebrews ii. 3, sacrament, 1 
Peter i. 15. 



56 

April 28, Litchfield, 1 Kings xviii. 21, 1 Timothv 
i. 15. 

May 5, New Milford, James i. 22, John iv. 24, 
baptized Abel, son of Abel Moot, and Nabby, daugh- 
ter of Isaac Bisco. 

May 12, New Milford, James i. 26, Jeremiah xxxii. 
17, baptized Easter, daughter of Daniel Burrit; 
chose John McEwen and William Hurd, Church 
Wardens, Heath Garlick, Clerk. 

May 19, Sharon, 1 Timothy i. 15, John iv. 24. 

May 26, Litchfield, Acts xix. 2, 1 Peter i. 15, bap- 
tized Julian, son of Jacob Beach. 

June 2, Roxbury, Psalm xc. 2, 1 Thess. v. 9, bap- 
tized Silence daughter of Benjamin Warner, a daugh- 
ter of Isaac Castle, and daughter of 

Squire. 

June 5, Convention at Hebron, Mr. Leming preach- 
ed from 1 Corinthians iv. 1. 

June 9, New Milford, 1 Timothv i. 15, Isaiah xlvi. 
9, 10. 

June 16, Litchfield, John iv. 24, James i. 22, baptiz- 
ed Friend, son of John Smith, and one from Goshen. 

June IS, Cornwall, Romans iii. 28, baptized Elihu, 
son of Elihu Allen, Lydia, daughter of Pang- 
born, David, and Levi, sons of Thomas Harris. 

June 23, Sharon, James, i. 22, Psalm xc. 2, bap- 
tized son of a man in Oblong. 

June 24, Sharon, Captain Dunham's, James i. 26, 
baptized Sylvia Dunham, James, son of James Good- 
rich. 

June 30, New Milford, Hebrews iv. 3, baptized 
Gould, son of Lemuel Buck, Edmund, son of Ep. 
[Ephraim] Richmond, Dianthe, daughter of David 
Barnum, Abigail, daughter of Abraham Gillett, Jehi- 
el, son of Andrew Hawlev, Lucinda, daughter of 
Killey Wheller. 

July 2, married Richard Rowland and Bridget Os- 
bom. 



57 

July 7, Roxbury, John vii. 17, Isaiah xlvi. 9, 10. 

July 14, Litchfield, Isaiah xlvi. 9, 10, Matthew 
xvi. 26, baptized Cerene, daughter of Jon. Bishop, 
sacrament next. 

July 21, New Milford, Matthew xix 17, Eaden, P. 
M-, baptized Clarinda, daughter of Phineas Hurd, 
and Diadame of Eastman, sacrament next. 

July 28, Sharon, Jeremiah xxxii. 17, Luke iii. 17, 
sacrament next. 

August 4, Roxbury, Matthew xix. 17, Eadem, P, 
M., baptized Abel Squire and Robert Hawley Beach, 
sacrament next. 

August 11, New Milford, 1 Cor. 11, 28, 29, sacra- 
ment, 50 communicants, Matthew xix. 17. 

August 14, New Milford, 2 Peter, i. 7. 

August 18, Litchfield, 1 Cor. xi. 28, 29, sacrament, 
60 communicants, Jeremiah xxxii. 17, baptized Or- 
ange, daughter of Daniel Landon, Jr. and Abigail 
another of Simeon Smith. 

August 25, New Milford, Luke vi. 36, Romans viii, 
13, baptized Abigail, daughter of Sol. Palmer. 

September 1, Sharon, 1 Cor. xi. 28, 29, sacrament, 
28 communicants, Romans yiii. 15 baptized Daniel 
Savage. 

September 2, baptized Stephen, son of Samuel 
Hitchcock. 

September 8, Roxbury, 1 Cor. xi. 28, 29, sacra- 
ment, married Dilliveranus Squire and Mary Robins, 
Romans viii. 13, baptized James Paleamon of Aben- 
ather, Clarinda of Abel Hawley. 

September 15, Waterbury, for Litchfield, Ezra 
xviii. 31, sacrament, 102 communicants, Hebrews xi. 
6, baptized a girl. 

September 22, New Milford, 2 Peter iii. 11, Psalm 
xcviii. 9, baptized Silvanus of Israel Canfield, Mary 
of Samuel Miles, cautioned my people from having 
any part in the present opposition. 



58 

September 29, New Milford, Romans ii. 4, 1 Tim- 
othy ii. 1, 2. 

October 6, Sharon, Psalm xcviii. 9, 1 Timothy ii, 
1, 2, baptized Daniel, grandson of Captain Ketchum. 

October 13, Roxbury, Luke vi. 36, 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2. 

October 20, Litchfield, Titus i. 2, 1 Timothy ii. 1,2, 
baptized Mary, daughter of Silvanus Bishop, David, 
of David Westover. 

October 25, Merriall Stone's, Ace. Reg. Romans 
xiii.l, Bishop of London, baptized Ebenezer, son of 
Captain Hitchcock, Canfield, of Benajah Stone, 
Easter of Abel Bostwick, Daniel, of John Peet, Je- 
rusha, Sarah and Mary, of Samuel Peet, Mabel of 
Gilerd Sperry, Chloe and Louis of Uri Tucker. 

October 27, New Milford, Galatians ii. 17, Titus 
i. 2, baptized Mercy, daughter of Sol. Hotchkiss. 

November 2, New Milford, Phil. iii. 14, Romans 
xii. 1. 

November 5, Captain Bosworth's, Psalm 1. 23, 
married Nathaniel Brown and Lucy Russell, baptized 
Nathaniel, son of Nathaniel Brown, Samuel Palmer, 
and Moses of Moses Cary, and Benajah of William 
Bosworth. 

November 10, Sharon, Titus i. 2, Romans xii. 1. 

November 14, St. Pumpions, Isaac Bisco's, He- 
brew ii. 3, married Nathan Can-field. and Louis Hurd. 

November 17, Roxbury, Romans ii. 4; xii. 1. 

November 24, Litchfield, Psalm xcviii. 9, Romans 
viii. 13, baptized four children of Ebenezar Culvar, 
of Benjamin Landon, and of Zebulon Culvar. 

November 25, at brother's, Romans iii. 28. 

December 1, New Milfurd, John viii. 31,32, Rom- 
ans xii. IS. baptized Vishti, daughter ot Justin Sher- 
man, and Catharine of Nathaniel Taylor. 

December 8, Roxbury. Titus i. 2. Philippians vi. 5, 
baptized Ashbel, son of Mr. Moody. 

December 15, New Milford, Matthew xi. 4, &c, 



59 

Philippians iv. 5, baptized Almira daughter of Isaac 
Hitchcock. 

December 22, Sharon, Luke vi. 36, Philippians iv. 5. 

December 25, Sharon, Luke ii. 10, 11, sacrament. 

December 29, Litchfield, Luke vi. 36; ii. 10, 11, 
baptized a grandchild of Jeremiah Griswold, married 
Uriah Catlin and Rubea Kilborn. 

January 5, 1766, New Millbrd, very sick, could not 
officiate. 

January 12, Roxbury, Psalm xcviii. 9, Matthew xi. 
4, 5, 6. 

January 19, New Milford, 1 John ii. 15, Acts xx. 
21. 

January 26, Sharon, Romans ii. 4, Philippians ii # 
12, 13. 

February 2, Litchfield, Romans ii. 4, Philippians ii. 
12, 13. 

February 9, New Milford. Hebrews iii. 13. 

Here ends the Record of the Rev. Thomas Davies ? 
ministeiial services. 



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